The present invention relates generally to computing technology, and more specifically, to software-defined networking (SDN).
SDN represents one technique for controlling networks. In the context of the Open System Interconnection (OSI) model (ISO/IEC 7498-1), SDN is applied to Layer 2 or 3 devices, such as switches, routers, etc. SDN is not applied to Layer 1 or physical layer (PHY) devices.
In conventional systems, PHY devices each have their own operating system (OS). The PHY devices need to be separately configured. Moreover, in the context of the network as a whole, SDN fails to provide for management of all the devices in the network, or all the devices in a given communication path. In this respect, there is no end-to-end management provided.